Search icon

Football

24th May 2016

Rangers fans respond to arrival of self-professed Celtic fan Joey Barton

His blood was boiling when Rangers came calling

Tom Victor

Rangers have secured a major transfer coup to mark their return to Scotland’s top flight, bringing in Joey Barton on a free transfer.

A member of last season’s Championship Team of the Year, the one-cap England international has turned down the chance to stay at Premier League new boys Burnley and opted to move north of the border.

With more than 250 Premier League appearances to his name, Barton is certainly the calibre of player capable of improving Mark Warburton’s squad.

So much so that the club released a trailer for his exclusive first interview as a Rangers player.

But some Gers fans have been drawn to this old tweet, sent all the way back in 2012.

bartontweet

It’s not the first time Barton has found himself in mild trouble for comments made in the past. His arrival at Burnley was accompanied by the dredging up of a series of old tweets in which he badmouthed both the club and the town.

Playing for a rival club to the one you support is nothing new – the likes of Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen played for Liverpool after growing up following Everton – but the Old Firm rivalry is not like most other rivalries in football.

Some Rangers fans are willing to offer Barton the benefit of the doubt.

https://twitter.com/TheBigBlueBear6/status/734782362249273345

https://twitter.com/BkG1984/status/734837881735372805

And another name came up repeatedly

https://twitter.com/RossAdamson97/status/732179488818221057

But that isn’t the overall consensus.

https://twitter.com/nick_elt/status/731505779652608001

https://twitter.com/GregLeft/status/731494899439312896

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10